Accenting device for piano-player actions.



F. CARNAHAN.

ACCENTING DEVICE FOR PIANO PLAYER ACTIONS. APPLICATION FILED 0Ec.2I, 1916.

1,242,919. Patented Oct. 16,1917.

f l/WE/VTOR 15 a v Q I ATTORNEY S UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK CARNAHAN, OF SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 'IO EMERSON PIANO COLIPANY, OF BOSTON, -MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ACCENTING DEVICE FOR PIANO-PLAYER ACTIONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 191 '7.

Application filed December 21, 1916. Serial No. 138,143.

To all whomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK CARNAHAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Accenting Devices for Piano- Player Actions, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which-it appertains to make and use-the same.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of the invention selected by me for purposes of illustration and said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the main bellows or feeders, the main air trunk or wind chest, and the equalizers, as usually installed in piano players for providing the necessary suction to operate the player action and associated devices, and.

showing my invention embodied therein.

Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of one of the equalizers and the wind chest to which it is connected.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through one of the equalizers on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showingmy invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the equalizer, shown in Fig. 3, showing the automatic accenting valve in closed position.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view .of a portion of the equalizer, and showing said-valve and associated parts, and-illustrating the mannor in which the said valve is prevented from closing, completely, the aperture communicating with the wind chest.

"The object of my invention is to render the pneumatic player action of a pneumatic piano player more delicately responsive to "the operator through the pedals which actuate the main air exhaust bellows, or feeders as'they are termed in the art, .in order that any particular note or chord in a piece of music, which is being played by the instrument, may be accented or emphasized by momentarily and partially (but not wholly) putting out of action the equalizer or equalizers by means of a valve acted upon by the percussive action of the air within the equalizer caused by a sudden movement of the pedal or pedals, so that the percussive action, which automatically partially closes the accenting valve, will be imparted to the action pneumatic or pneumatics selectively brought into operation at that instant by the travel of the perforated note sheet in the usualmanner, to the end that such notes shall be sounded with a greater force and volume than those preceding and following the same unless the accenting is continued as to several successive notes or groups of notes. I .he accenting valve is positively prevented from completely closing the communicating aperture between the equalizer and the wind chest, and main feeders, and is normally held in open position by yielding means, such as a spring vof such strength that in the normal operation of the feeders this valve is not affected in any way, and the equalizer or equalizers operate as if it were not present, and immediately after the valve is brought into operation the tendency of the air pressure to equalize between the main feeders and the equalizer almost instantly relieves the accenting valve from the momentary eifect of the percussive action, before referred to, and permits it to open wide, and return to its normal position.

I also provide means for adjusting the oosition of the accentin valve with res )ect positively and as accurately as a performer can feel the touch of the piano keys in order that he may in the playing of musical compositions express his own individual feeling and interpretation, while the player action merely provides the necessarymechanism for supplying the technique in the selective actuation of the hammers.

By my invention monotonous mechanical effect so largely produced in the use of piano players can be entirely avoided by those performers who have a sufficient understanding of musical expression to give an individual interpretation to the selection played.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing, I have shown so much of a pneumatic piano player as is necessary for complete understanding of my invention. In this figure 11 represent the main exhausting bellows or feeders. 4 represents the main wind chest or air trunk to which the feeders, 11, are connected, the said wind chest being connected, in this instance, by means of tubes, 55, with the pneumatics of the player action in the usual or any preferred manner. 6-6 represent a pair of equalizers each of which comprises a stationary side which is preferably secured to the wind chest, 4, a movable side, 7, and the usual flexible bellows section, 8. Each of the equalizers communicates with the wind chest, l, by a single aperture, 9, extending through the wind chest and stationary side of the equalizer, which serves as an inlet and outlet aperture to permit of the equalization of tension of the contained air within the feeders, wind chest and equalizers. The suction from the main feeders does not draw the air through the equalizer but through the wind chest, and the equalizers merely serve as additional reservoirs which are more or less collapsed by the tendency of the air to equalize its tension through the apertures, 9. Each of the equalizers is normally and yieldingly held in open position by the usual V-shaped spring, 10, interposed between the stationary and movable sides. Adjacent to the orifice, 9, of the equalizer, I provide a spring actuated accenting valve, 11, which is preferably in the form of a thin plate of spring metal, having one end rigidly secured to the stationary side of the equalizer within the same and lying over the aperture, 9, but being held normally at such a distance from the edges of the said aperture that in the normal operation of the feeders this accenting valve will not be affected at all, the equalizers operating exactly as if it were not present, there being ample room beneath and around the plate to permit it to function at all times as an equalizer when the valve is in open position.

I alsoprovide means, as before stated, for positively preventing the accenting valve,

11, from ever closing completely the aperture, 9. This may be accomplished in various ways, but in the present embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawing, I have shown pads, 1212, of felt or other suitable material placed above and below the aperture, 9, so tnat when the valve is instantaneously or momentarily snapped into closed position, it will be held by said pads at a distance from the edges of the aperture, 9, and will permit of the passage of air around the pl ate at each side thereof.

I also prefer to provide the valve, 11, with means for adjusting it toward. and from the aperture, 9, so as to vary its position when open, to make it more or less sensitive to the action of the pedals when it is desired to call this valve into action. For example, in the embodiment of the invention herein shown, I have provided an, adjustable rod,

13, passing through a slot, 14, in the free end of the plate valve 11, and provided with a head, 15, engaging the inner face of the valve, the said rod extending through the stationary side of the equalizer and having a threaded portion, which is provided with a wing nut, 16, or other means for adjusting the rod, 13, longitudinally. I prefer to make the rod, 13, rectangular in cross section so that it will not turn in the stationi ary side of the equalizer or in the slot, 14 of the valve, and a pad or washer may be provided beneath the head, 15, of the adjusting rod as indicated, to cushion the return movement of the valve and prevent noise.

The operation of the device is as follows. Assuming that the operator is playing a musical selection and is familiar with the composition so that he can recognize individual note perforations in the paper roll which correspond with certain notes or chords, which he desires to bring out prominently, as he sees a note perforation or perforations approaching the apertures of the tracker board, he will give a sudden thrust upon one or both of the pedals producing a quick reduction of pressure within the feeders and wind chest and the equalizer or equalizers connected therewith in the manner described. The sudden reduction of pressure will cause a sudden rush of air from the equalizer to the aperture, 9, the sudden impact of which upon the valve, 11, will act percussively to snap it into closed position, and automatically throttle the aperture, 9, so as to momentarily partially disconnect the equalizer or equalizers and enable the feeders to directly, momentarily, and sharply actuate, the selected player pneumatics corresponding to the notes to be accented so as to accent the same more or less sharply according to the exact degree of the stroke which the operator has imparted to the pedal or pedals. This effect is instam taneous only and is'immedia'tely and automatically destroyed owing to the fact that the valve, 11, does not completely close the aperture,9,'and almost as soon as the valve, 11, is snapped into closed position the tension of the air within the equalizer and the wind chest and feeders will equalize through the ap'erture,"9, and the valve, 11, will be almost immediately restored to its normal position, and there maintained until the next accenting operation is desired.

By ad usting the plate 11, toward or from the aperture, 9, the exact desired degree of sensitiveness of the accenting valve can be obtained according to the feeling of each individual operator. The spring plate valve, 11, is actuated solely by the air, and to close it a sufiicient rarefaction of the air in the feeders and Wind chest must be created to overcome the normal leak or passage of air around the plate valve, and cause the air within the equalizer to impact upon the inner face of the valve with suflicient force to overcome the resistance of the spring. The nearer the spring plate valve is held to the aperture, 9, the more the leak or the passage for the air through the aperture, 9, around the valve is reduced, and the more readily will the valve be actuated, that is to say, when the valve is adjusted so as to more nearly close it, it will be actuated by less effort applied to the pedals. Hence, the sensitiveness of the plate valve, 11, is governed and may be regulated by the distance it is held in its normal position from the aperture, 9, and the closer it is held to the aperture, 9, the more sensitive it becomes, the excessive power applied to the bellows through the pedals in the manner described being transmitted to the pneumatics actuating the selected hammers and accenting the selected notes. It will also be seen that the operator can not only accent certain notes or chords, but he can-also accent them to a greater or less extent. Thus if the stroke imparted. to the bellows produces a rarefaction only slightly more than sufficient to snap the valve, 11, into closed position, the player pneumatics will be slightly accented. A more powerful stroke of the bellows will not produce any greater effect on the valve, but will produce a more powerful blow of the hammer or hammers, by the action of the player pneumatics, the excess of power over that required to percussively close the accenting valve being a variable quantity entirely within the control of the operator which he can transmit to the player pneumatics in accordance with his taste and feeling.

In embodying my invention in a piano player either one or both of the usual equalizers may be provided with the accenting valve herein disclosed or the same might be installed in an additional or separate equalizer connected with the wind chest and feeders, if desired.

hat I claim and dcsire'to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a pneumatic piano player, the combination with pedal operated feeders connected with the player action, and an equalizer, having a single inlet and outlet passage in communication with the main feeders, of a normally open, yieldingly supported valve for said passage, said valve being adapted to be moved momentarily to closed position by the percussive action of the air within the equalizer when either of the feeders is actuated suddenly and forcibly, to momentarily throttle said passage, and accent notes or chords, and means for preventing said valve from completely closmg said passage.

2. In a pneumatic piano player, the combination with pedal operated feeders connected with the player action, and an equalizer, having a single inlet and outlet passage in communication with the main feeders, of a normally open, yieldingly supported valve for said passage, said valve being adapted to be moved momentarily to closed position by the percussive action of the air within the equalizer when either of the feeders is actuated suddenly and forcibly to momentarily throttle said passage and accent notes or chords, means for preventing said valve from completely closing said passage and means for adjusting said valve when in open position toward or from its seat.

3. An equalizer having a single inlet and outlet aperture, a spring actuated plate valve within said equalizer, extending across said aperture and normally held in open po sition, and means for preventing the valve from completely closing said aperture.

4. An equalizer having a single inlet and outlet aperture, a. spring actuated plate valve within said equalizer, extending across said aperture and normally held in open position, and means for preventing the valve from completely closing said aperture, and an adjustable device for engaging said valve and limiting its inward movement away from said aperture.

5. An equalizer having a single inlet and outlet aperture, a plate of spring material extending across said aperture and having one end secured to the equalizer at one side of said aperture and extending normally away from said aperture, means for preventing said plate from completely closing said aperture, a rod loosely engaging the movable end of said plate, and provided with a part for limiting the inward movement of said plate, and means for adjusting said rod longitudinally.

6. An equalizer having fixed and movable sides, and provided with a single inlet and rod extending through said fixed side and 10 outlet aperture in its fixed side, a spring having a retaining head for limiting the plate secured to said fixed side Within the inward movement of said plate, and an adequalizer and extending across the said apjusting nut on said rod on the outer face of perture, said plate having portions lying said fixed side for adjusting said rod and normally at a distance from the portions of the position of the spring plate when in open 15 the fixed side surrounding said aperture, position. means for preventing said plate from completely closing said aperture, an adjusting In testimony whereof I aflix my si aturo.

FRANK CARNA AN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents;

Washington, D. 0. 

